Peculiar inquisitive behavior Today was a good dolphin day. An early morning boat trip brought us some mediocre weather conditions, but some fantastic dolphin video. After surviving what I term “Lumbar Waves” (choppy water conditions that bounce you up and down in an apparent attempt to cause permanent spinal damage to the lower lumbar region), we came across an inquisitive group of subadults down by Subarune. There is a small stretch of sand flats just offshore – a contrast to the usual boulder strewn bottom found around the rest of the island.
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Otanjoubi Omedetou
Video ID all finished! Today was my birthday. So what did I do to celebrate? Video ID! I had no boat trips and lots of free time, so I managed my way through all of the outstanding videos. There was a little celebration in my honor this evening – beer, fish, tofu, etc. The usual Mikura goodies. As a treat for my guests, I fried up 3 pounds of meat! Meat is a precious commodity here on Mikura, and I received 3 pounds of it as a gift yesterday.
Dolphins & Darcie!
Oh, today was a good day. We had a good group of passengers and the boat was full. We saw and swam with a bottlenose group around 17:00 and then headed in search of spotteds. It wasn’t long before we found them. Two mother-calf pairs. One set was an unknown adult with a female calf. The other was un-named #57 and presumably her female calf. We are hopefully safely assuming this is her calf because of the close proximity of the two and the fact that last week we saw them together!
This is Bridget Jones reporting from Mikura Jima
A goofball of a day I had been having a trouble free field season so far. Until today. I did it to myself again this time; I had just recently written an email to Kathleen giving her an update on progress here in Mikura. “Everything is running like a well oiled machine” I wrote. Doh! I jinxed myself again! There was clearly no oil involved in my latest boat trip. Today was a Bridget Jones day – awkward and ill-fated. It went down more like a circus act than a research trip.
Where are all the dolphin watchers?
Well, we thought for sure that since it is Memorial Day weekend, there would be a boat trip…but, even though every slip on the island has a pretty boat in place, no one seemed to want to go on a dolphin trip. I don’t know why….don’t they know how much fun it is and how much I want to be collecting data!? Tonight we are having a small bonfire on the beach and then going to “Big John’s,” the new hangout.
Yasumi!
A marine mammal free day I decided to take a break from dolphin data today. There were no boat trips – the boats are packed for the weekend. And since I have a trip lined up for tomorrow anyway, I thought I deserved a day of rest.
Subadult social!
An unsupervised party rages on under the waves Today was sunny but chilly. The water was oh so cold! I shiver just thinking about it. But every time I catch myself wishing that I was in the Bahamas, swimming around in the warm waters off of Bimini, I quickly remind myself that you simply can’t beat the Mikura dolphins! I am constantly surprised by the crazy things these guys get up to, and their total lack of fear (and interest usually) of the humans that crop up in their path.
No aquarium phone call
Ah, aquarium life. Ah, island life. Sometimes you have a plan for the day and sometimes none of that happens! Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration is getting ready to restart their dolphin program, which is set to include a phone link with us in Bimini. Today was meant to be the practice run, but it got postponed. And then it was a gloomy day here, so the dolphin trip was postponed as well. I tried to get a few odds & ends done and then staff, family &
Alfonso the rogue macaw
Crazy dolphins and resourceful birds A sudden boat trip this afternoon turned out to be a huge success. The conditions were optimal – warm water, warm air, plenty of dolphins and calm seas. We found a group of resting dolphins – females with calves. I do not think they were happy with the boat following them. #001 (Kuchizure), an older matriarch type dolphin, began tail slapping the surface of the water, and threatened us with the open mouth Angry Jaw display when we got in the water.
Back at school
Our first visit to the public school on the island- Bimini All Ages – was this afternoon. As a reward for good academics, members of grade 10 are heading out to see the dolphins!
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